Paris Paralympics 2024 Para-Badminton: Top-seeded Indian shuttler Nitesh Kumar clinched a gold medal in the men’s singles SL3 category at the Paris Paralympics 2024 on Monday, September 2.
Nitesh defeated Daniel Bethell of Britain 21-14, 18-21, 23-21 in the thrilling final and took India's medal tally to nine.
This was India's second gold medal after para-shooter Avani Lekhara at the ongoing Paralympics.
The 29-year-old Nitesh headed into the all-important final on the back of a 21-16 21-12 win over Japan's Daisuke Fujihara in the semifinals.
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He was rock solid in his defence and spot on with his shot selections to get the better of Tokyo silver medalist as India got its first medal in Badminton at Paralympics 2024.
The SL3 category in para-badminton includes players that have moderately restricted movement in one or both limbs or the absence of limbs.
The games in this category are played on a half-width court with no restriction on the shots played.
The first set of the match between Nitesh and Daniel witnessed long rallies and after a neck-to-neck battle till the midway stage, the Indian shuttler kept the momentum going before racing to a 21-14 win.
The second game too saw a close battle but the 29-year-old Nitesh seemed to be losing the momentum and gave away the lead in the final few points of the second game.
The British shuttler took the second set 21-18 to force the contest into the decider.
A 19-16 lead in the decider saw Nitesh heading towards a famous win but Daniel bounced back and kept him on his toes.
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Both the players exchanged two gold medal points before the Indian finally triumphed.
Talking about Nitesh, he had lost his left leg in a train accident in Visakhapatnam in 2009 at the age of 15 but he recovered from the trauma and found his calling in para badminton.
Nitesh's victory on Monday ensured that India retained the SL3 gold after Pramod Bhagat clinched the title three years ago when para-badminton made its debut in Tokyo.